According to the unnamed Samsung staffer, the firm has already inked a deal with Apple and will mass-produce A8 chips at its Austin, Texas, plant, the factory where it currently churns out 64-bit A7 chips for the iPhone 5S and iPad Air. The source added that Samsung is in a testing phase at present, before actual production begins in the next quarter.

As well as reports having claimed that Apple was looking to lessen its reliance on Samsung, the Taiwanese media reported in February that TMSC would be the sole manufacturer of Apple's quad-core A8 chip. Those reports claimed that due to low yields from Samsung, Apple would cut it out of the production process.

However, the unnamed Samsung source said that the rumored low yields were "exaggerated claims" and that the Austin plant will be ready to begin production by April, with Monday's report claiming that Samsung will split production with TSMC.

The report from ZDNet added that Apple's A8 chip will be ready in the third quarter, hinting at an autumn launch for the firm's next generation iPhone. µ